The Work of Curating in the Age of Digital Reproduction: the Curator as a Cultural Critic

One of the foremost tasks of art has always been the creation of a demand which could be fully satisfied only later.

Walter Benjamin, The work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Ch. 14

"The work of art," says Andre Breton, "is valuable only in so far as it is vibrated by the reflexes of the future."

Walter Benjamin, The work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Note 17

This article is referring to the process of curating PostGender: Gender, Sexuality and performativity in Contemporary Japanese Art exhibition – a curatorial project I have recently led for the Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art, part of the larger body of Haifa Museums. The exhibition was shown on Sep. 2005 – Jan. 2006 and attracted a large volume of visitors – nearly 8000 visits, and significant media coverage – on TV as well as the printed media.

In the preliminary thinking before embarking on the actual curatorial process, an initial decision was taken to avoid references to unique Japanese features, and to concentrate on a social subject-matter like gender identity, which presumes references to these aspects and questions in various cultures. The decision to avoid understanding Japan as a "unique" culture, moved forward to a second decision: to avoid "original" works of art – but refer only to forms of art which are reproducible i.e. prints, photography, video art, and documentation of performance art. This thread of thinking - drawing a parallel line between the Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction, and the refusal to relate to Japan as a unique culture - became the main platform for the overall critical quality of this exhibition. 

In this text I would like to tackle two major aspects, referring to the process of curating this exhibition of Japanese Art for a museum in Israel, understanding the problems of a "foreign" Gaze into a distant culture, and secondly, understanding the dilemmas of a curatorial project for a museum in Israel, while residing in London. On the last stage I shall intertwine the two aspects to show the relevance of digital media for the curatorial process.

The first point in this context, is referring to the process of working in a cultural context which is different to that of the curator herself as well as the museum and the expected audience. The implication of such distance entails a need to look at the other culture in a complex and multi-focal way that will reflect on the specific problems indicated in the works of art presented. At the same time, it is crucial to recruit the tools that will enable the bridging needed between the material presented and the viewing audience.

The second aspect refers to the 'long distance' curatorial process itself, in the age of information technology which includes the internet, e-mailing systems, DVD projections and digital printing process. This aspect refers to the fact that PostGender was on its final stage (before installation) a small case of discs, that contained all the information that was needed to install the exhibition in the museum.

This process, I shall argue, differs dramatically from the traditional work of the curator who is bind up with dealing with originals that need to be transferred, wrapped, packed, shipped, insured, protected, hanged and displayed, with especially gentle care and professional handling that cost a fortune.  The exhibition of traditional original works of art involves a process which dramatically differs from the work of the curator who deals with photography and video-art in the age of digital reproduction. Therefore, in this twofold process, the curatorial work in the context of other culture in the Age of Digital Information and Reproduction can be as critical and conceptual as the work of a conceptual artist. The reproduction enables the cultural researcher or the art critic to have the freedom to create selections that closely reflect the critical point of view at focus, detached from the complexities of dealing with originals. Moreover, the concentration on contemporary media, and the refrain from traditional tools, enables a departure from the pitfalls of searching for uniqueness in the context of the Other culture, and opens the discussion within the exhibition to the specificity of each photograph, each projection or installation for its own merit, refraining from cultural common denominators, namely, the immediate signifiers identified with a specific culture.[1]

 

The Curator as a Cultural Critic: On curating in Other Cultures

The technique of reproduction detaches the reproduced object from the domain of tradition. By making many reproductions it substitutes a plurality of copies for a unique existence. And in permitting the reproduction to meet the beholder or listener in his own particular situation, it reactivates the object reproduced.

Walter Benjamin, The work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Ch. 2

In recent years it seems that the Western world has taken great interest in the artistic work created in cultures other then the immediate West[2] . Numerous exhibitions curated in the past two decades were re-considering contemporary art from Japan, China, Africa, Latin America and even East Europe.[3]   As I had the chance to view some of these exhibitions, my attention was drawn to several aspects that became significant: one of the evident pitfalls that some exhibitions seemed to be trapped into, was the idea that an exhibition of Contemporary Japanese Art should foreground the uniqueness and "difference" of Japanese Art to Western Contemporary Art. This attitude resulted in attempts to show what is imagined to be exclusive and differing qualities from contemporary art in the West. 

In a previous research[4]  I have shown that the desire to establish uniqueness of another culture can be problematic. The problem lies in the establishing of essentialist modes of reading "Japanese-ness"[5] , and therefore, one should be alert to the (Western) desire to constitute Japanese-ness as a unique cultural space. The result of this desire brings many exhibitions of Japanese art (or other foreign cultures) to stick to signifiers and objects that embody in Western imagination the "difference" and uniqueness of the culture in focus. The search for these elements results in many cases in the externalization of what is perceived as "different" from a Western point of view i.e. the use of local dress, costumes, architecture, local politics and so forth. I refer in this context to exhibitions that show  tendency to classify Contemporary Japanese Art as "delicate", "cute" or "manga-like"[6]  , and in the case of Chinese art, there seems to be an over emphasis on political images and issues referring to the time of the Imperial or Communist regimes[7]  , with neglect of more mundane and common issues on the focus of many Japanese or Chinese artists.  In other words, the desire to specifically indicate the exclusiveness of specific culture, results in blindness to not so obvious possibilities that are included in subject matter which is open to wider discussion of specific human problems.

In my view, the tendency to amplify or indicate inimitable qualities, often  results in the externalizes of familiar signifiers and  images of otherness, and in many cases it misses the more interesting works that do not necessarily engage with local symbols and icons, but convey remarkable artistic interpretations of wider cultural dilemmas – like gender or cultural identity.

Japanese art suffered from this attitude in the past, but in recent years, several Japanese curators were invited to curate Japanese exhibitions in the West[8] , and were given the opportunity to broaden the discussion and modes this art world is perceived in the major cultural centers[9] , and to offer an intriguing possibility to discuss contemporary Japanese art in a mode that recognizes its contribution to the global discourse, rather then excluding it as unique and different[10].

With these notions in mind, my attitude toward the selection process of artists and works in PostGender was looking at the possibility to bring into the discussion some Japanese artists who can help to expand from their experience, on this widely discussed issue[11]  In my selection of artists I was thinking on those who deal with local questions, as well as more general issues around gender identity: I was specifically interested in artists who deal with this question in a continuous manner i.e. they do not limit themselves to one aspect or another. Sawada Tomoko is a good example with her two very different projects: in OMIAI♥ project, she looks at a Japanese specific phenomenon – during the matchmaking period, a photo-book of her own image is produced by a prospective bride to represent herself to the family of the potential groom. This sort of imagery can easily be identified with picture-books produced by couples before, during and after their marriage day[12] . The way Sawada presents this project communicates itself directly to the Western viewer without fail. On the other hand, in another series, ID400, she tackles a much more "global" theme around self-designed feminine images - she created another personal variation on the theme of feminine masquerade, when she took some 400 odd images of herself in commercial photo-booths, representing a chameleon-esque identity, escaping any pinning down of her own image or any generalization of the "Japanese" image/identity.

These notions were on my focus when I had embarked on the curatorial project leading to PostGender.

Therefore – a crucial parallel line was drawn between the refusal to regard Japan as a "unique" and to avoid "original" work of art – in its material sense.  This parallel, between the unique and the original, is a point of refusal in the process of understanding how a curatorial process can reflect on itself. The conceptual context was embodied in the actual medium of the exhibition – works that can be produced digitally[13] , and could be produced at the site of the show[14] . In this way, I could secure that the experience of the viewer will reside on the specific images, the context of presentation, and the issues raised rather then enthusiasm or fascination with the materiality of the works presented – in terms of substance, technique etc. The elimination of this barrier, created an atmosphere where the discussion went into the conceptual questions raised rather then the excitement about the "value" of the works, in terms of the art market. The benefit of these elements in relation to the question of gender, enabled a liberation, even emancipation of the concept of Gender as well, from the shackles of traditional binary forms and norms, to enable a more open-ended, fluid, multiplied discussion of gender.

 

Selection of Artists and Works: Gender Identity vs. Japanese-ness

As I was clear about the pitfalls awaiting me as a Western curator looking at Japanese Art[15] ,  I was determined to look at a theoretical or social aspect, and to avoid the traps of stylizing Japanese art, or trying to define it through its forms, rather then its subject-matter. Among other possibilities that I have considered, the question of gender identity and sexuality in relation to the concept of performativity (as this subject was introduced and discussed by Judith Butler in the 90's) seemed the most interesting one, as Japanese culture has a significant tradition of female impersonations by male actors in the Noh and Kabuki theatres, as well as long tradition of homosexual tradition, and some tough questions around the role of women in contemporary Japanese society. I was particularly interested in this subject vis-à-vis the extensive interest and research in recent years of these questions around the world. Moreover, Morimura Yasumasa, the pivotal artist of my research, takes a fascinating stand on this issue, and I thought that going along this line may produce some thought provoking works and ideas. I hope that I was not mistaken in my preliminary judgment.

My initial idea then, was to look into and understand the issues of gender,  sexuality and performativity within the context of Japanese discourse, and to bring it forward as part of the global discussion of the past three decades on these issues, as a contribution that comes from a fresh direction. In my selection to show photography and video-art, I was definitely not aiming at photography as a "documentary" tool, but rather, photography as a critical tool that its ubiquity and flexibility in producing images was adopted by many contemporary artists. On the other hand, some of the works opened the discussion into unexpected directions, reflecting on local culture and specific issues: criticism of censorship rules, prostitution and war, female body and Buddhist notions of "giving", customs of matchmaking and marriage, relentless masquerades, male pregnancy and so forth. In my view, these are not specific or uniquely "Japanese" ideas or representations, but an accumulated collection of contributions from artists who focus on specific issues which can add an interesting angle to the continuous debate on gender matters around the world.

My article in the exhibition catalogue[16]  was aiming at expanding the discussion on gender by arguing for multiplicity of genders. Based on the engagement with the art works participating in the show and the artists, a new terminology has mounted up in relation to the subject – I realized that there was a strong suggestion of multiplicity of genders rather then the tradition of rigid definitions of two genders and multiple deviations, prevailing in Western Modernist thought. By coining the title as The Seven Genders of Japan I was aiming at opening a wider debate that will include various methods, disciplines and fantasies as possible embodiments of gender[17] . Some of these genders are specific to Japan (nonetheless not unique) – like the Onnagata – the Kabuki male actors who specialize in female-impersonations[18] . Others, like The Male Pregnancy Project by Okada Hiroko are hilarious and funny, and seriously contemplate on male-female roles in the nuclear families of middle class contemporary society, Japanese or otherwise[19]

In this respect, PostGender aimed at indicating that the possibility of multiplicity of genders exists, and can be opened to social, political and anthropological discussions. I specifically made a point of the fact that this was not a unique or specific structure to Japan, but rather, that the Japanese artists participating in PostGender can illuminate and expand some of the station points along the trajectory of definitions and characterization of gender as we struggle with this term today. Morimura Yasumasa, Takano Ryudai and  Akira the Hustler  contributed to the discussion of genders by the representations of multitude cross-gender and transvestite styles, through their attractive images of blurred identities – each one of them enlightening a specific aspect of gender identity: for Morimura gender-crossings are strongly linked to cultural-crossings; for Takano it is about ambiguity and the impossibility to tell the sexuality or even the gender of the Other; and for Akira the Hustler, it is about bringing forward homosexual culture in its diversity and many shades.

In my article I expanded on the genders presented in the exhibition itself, and brought in some other concepts of gender collected from various fields, to create the multitude of genders I was aiming at. The final result was a basket of options and multitude, and a whole variety of possibilities to choose from, celebrating human diversity, instead of locking one's sexual desire and personal preference in life and intimacy under rigid and binary dichotomies.

Conceptual curatorship

Mechanical reproduction of art changes the reaction of the masses toward art. … The progressive reaction is characterized by the direct, intimate fusion of visual and emotional enjoyment with the orientation of the expert.

Walter Benjamin, The work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Ch. 12

When I was invited to curate PostGender on summer 2002, it was on the eve of my departure from Israel for my PhD studies in London. Mr. Nissim Tal, the general manager of Haifa museums, gave me a "carte blanche" for the process. The idea was that when the concept and the collection will be ready, we shall be able to install the exhibition at the Tikotin museum.

So there we were: I am in London, the artists in Japan, the museum in Israel. The curatorial process therefore meant – internet, e-mail, telephones, DVD's, digital media, and virtual architectural design.

I started my initial work through simple Google search: since I have not been in Japan for the past 15 years, and my knowledge of the Contemporary Art scene was based on exhibition catalogues, professional journals, articles, exhibition websites, personal contacts, meetings and exhibitions in the West – I was heavily dependant on internet connection for my work. Through the internet I have managed to contact the galleries and museums holding the works in collections; I have contacted some of the artists whom I was interested in, either through their galleries, or through their personal websites. This all went into long and  rolling correspondences, images sent back and forth as JPG's, DVD's sent by mail, confirmations and agreements forwarded by e-mails. Slowly but surely, in a long process that took nearly three years, I have managed to create the initial collection of works that were to make the hard core of PostGender.

The next stage was around the actual delivery of the images from Japan to Haifa. In a world of rocketing shipping prices and a very limited exhibition budget, I realized that the exhibition budget will not allow me to ship the works from Japan to Israel. Nevertheless, I was not discouraged by this fact. Being an artist myself, well aware of the possibilities of digital media, I have often used printing facilities in Israel for the sake of exhibitions in London. I decided then to try and convince the artists to submit their works as digital files for printing in Israel.  Some of them loved the idea and were happy to collaborate from the first instance, while others were hesitant and reluctant. It took some time to get them on board with this rather unusual plan. After a long negotiation, I have managed to have seven out of the ten artists in the show agreeing to send their files for printing in Israel[20] .  As a result – the whole exhibition was by this stage a small and compact packet of about 20 CD's and 10 DVD's. The perfect digital density of this show became a strong element in my understanding of the contemporary process of curatorship, differing dramatically from the classic curatorial work. Instead of the involvement of the classic curator with actual original work in terms of it fragility and expense - PostGender was an exhibition I could put into my shoulder-bag and walk away to present it on a new venue. Where traditional curatorship means engagement with the original work of art which denotes  stability, immobility, high expense and high risk of damage and theft, PostGender became the emblem of the power of conceptual work and contemporary curatorship in its being virtual, mobile, low maintenance, and low risk of damage and incurability.

This sort of digital and virtual exhibition became a step forward a new sort of curatorship – not quite virtual art (such as the internet art) – which is perfectly virtual and does not hold any material form, but a virtual curatorship, that enables the curator to work with means matching the medium of the work shown. PostGender differs dramatically from conventional exhibitions, since the emphasis was put on the quality of the works in conceptual terms, and the experience of the visitor in the museum, rather then the dealing with original works of arts in the material sense of the word. In other words, in the process of curating PostGender, I was (nearly) free to make the selection of work purely based on my conceptual preferences rather then any other concerns of value, shipping availability, that normally stand in the way of the curator of actual work. 

 

The planning of PostGender: Conceptualization of Space, Virtual Design and the actual installation

Despite the contemporary nature of the works selected for PostGender, Tikotin museum is a heavily designed space, with the requirement to host traditional Japanese art exhibitions. The museum comprises of three spaces, two minor ones and a courtyard. The central space[21]  contains eight vertical glass cases, suitable in size for large ink-painting scrolls. Two more large glass cases (each 7 m. in width) normally filled with collections of traditional Japanese items – from swords to Netsuke, from Kimonos to Prints. The second space is the original space of the museum, which was built in 1960[22] . The space has marble flooring, a water-canal around it, and traditional Shoji (paper) windows. The third space was originally designed as a library, and had a long glass-tiles external wall. Namely, Tikotin museum is just the opposite of a "white cube" space, containing endless mixture of materials and showcases.

Moreover, living in London, I did not have a direct contact with the space, and needed some tools to overcome this problem while planning the concrete installation of the exhibition. Therefore, I have asked an architect friend, Arie Kutz, specializing in Japanese architecture and familiar with the museum as a building, to design the museum space on architectural software so that I will be able to get the proportions and the right feeling of the space. Arie Kutz sent me the design on simple architectural software and some photographs taken in the museum, and this has become my basic platform for work. My initial design of the exhibition in the museum was running on this software, and the result is presented here with the actual installation photographs to compare.

The challenge of installing a contemporary art exhibition into this space required me to think in an unconventional way. As an installation artist, "playing" with space is part of my joy. A long process of thinking, finally led me to a set of solutions: I decided to interfere with the space, and design it under the theme of the show.

The first and initial decision was to get the museum as dark as possible. This decision had double meaning: firstly, I thought that the theme of the exhibition matched a night time feeling, and I hoped that a dark space with spot lights will create the seductive atmosphere I was aspiring for[23]. Secondly, there was large amount of video works that needed dark space for effective projection. Thirdly, I was hoping to attract audiences that would not be the expected museum goer – to turn the museum into a night-out sort of venue. I requested the museum manager to change the opening hours. After long discussions and hesitations, my request was at last granted, and I could secure complete darkness in the space. Then, all lights were reduces, and only direct spots were used, directed to the works and the texts in space. Following this initial step, came a decision to design the three spaces under three themes: Red Window district, Back Stage, and Masculine Masquerade.  In-between there were three minor spaces: The Courtyard – with images of Takano Ryudai printed directly on the windows, The Clinic – a space dedicated to Okada Hiroko's work and designed as a waiting room in a medical clinic, and the Performance Stage – where Yoko Ono's Cut Piece, and Shigeko Kubota's Sexual Healing were placed.

Red Window District

The main problem was with the central space, which is occupied with the large glass-cases. I came up with the idea to transform it into a Red Window District – a location where the viewer is strolling and viewing, partly peeping to the images fully presented.  As a consequence of this initial view, I have decided that all portraits – naked or dressed - will be located in this space. I went on another round of requests from the artists, securing that each artist will be presented in this space properly. From some of them, I have requested specific work in new size, to match the size of the glass-cases, while with others it was just a question of initial decision on the location. The accumulation of the personal portraits in the main exhibition hall served also as an index for reading the mapping of the exhibition, and served as a possible trajectory for visiting:: each project or artist had one single image in this hall, which was linked to a larger project or a set of images in another part of the museum.  The result was a stunning collection of eight standing portraits in large glass cases of most of the artists, a huge reclining nude (Kikuo by Takano Ryudai) in the first horizontal glass-case, and four portraits of Morimura as Madonna (from his Psychoborg series) in the further glass-case. All cases were painted red, the light reduced – only spot lights directed into the glass case to illuminate the image and glitter in the space.

Figure 1 - Design for the Red District section

Figure 2 - Red Windows District - Images from the accrual installed space

Figure 3 - Red Windows District - Images from the accrual installed space

Figure 4 - Red Windows District - Images from the accrual installed space

Figure 5 - Yoko Ono Cut piece 1965 and 2003, two video projections - Passage hall

Figure 6 - Yoko Ono Cut piece 1965 and 2003, two video projections - Passage hall

Figure 7 - Okada Hiroko – Male Pregnancy project, 2004 – Passage hall 2

Figure 8 - Okada Hiroko – Male Pregnancy project, 2004 – Passage hall 2

 

Backstage area

As the second space revolved around ideas of performativity, theatricality, and masquerade – I decided to turn it into a Backstage area. The walls were painted in black, and the division of the space was done by a heavy red velvet curtain that ran like a long curve through the space, to create a small "theatre" like space for Bubu de la Madeleine's Landing Mermaid . Behind the curtain, there were 20 portraits of mixed images of Onnagata (male actors impersonating female roles) and Bijin (Japanese beauties) - Ukiyo-E prints from the museum collection, conjunct with the two series of Sawada Tomoko ID400 and OMIAI♥. In the bend of the installed curtain, a monitor  was playing the all-female-troupe Takarazuka famous show JFK – presenting JFK, Marilyn Monroe, and other iconic figures from the American 60's, all acted on stage by female actresses.  I was hoping that these mixtures of representation can catch the viewer into reconsidering female roles, female masquerade, and the meaning of Womanliness as a Masquerade[24], as suggest by the inter-textuality of these images. The overall effect of this space was dark and effective, and contributed successfully to the experience of the viewer and her engagement with the ideas and thoughts around femininity, masquerade, and gender roles.

Figure 9 - Back stage area – general view

Figure 10 - Back stage area - Sawada Tomoko - OMIAI♥ project

Figure 11 - Back Stage area - Sawada Tomoko - OMIAI♥ project and Onnagata+ Bijin images in classic Japanese Ukiyo-E prints

Figure 12 - Back Stage area - Bubu de la Madeleine Landing Mermaid, 2001

Figure 13 - Back Stage area - Bubu de la Madeleine Landing Mermaid, 2001

Figure 14 - Back Stage area - Bubu de la Madeleine Landing Mermaid, 2001

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 15 - Back Stage area - Bubu de la Madeleine Landing Mermaid, 2001

 

Masculine Masquerade

The third space was dedicated to Masculine Masquerade, and the passage from traditional images of the male body to modern and contemporary ones. I have used images from the 19th c. of the transformation of the emperor image – from the Son of the Sun, into a Prussian warrior, side by side with images of Western military commanders, ambassadors and other powerful men, presented as frightening, exotic, devilish, somehow bizarre images in the Japanese prints of Yokohama style – parallel in time to the photographs of that period. Uniforms played a central image in the works presented in this space – from the emperor's Prussian outfit, through the American soldier represented in Bubu and Shimada 's Made in Occupied Japan which works as a comment  on the relationship between war, occupation and the position of the prostitute within this complexity,  to Akira the Hustler's white navy uniform in his Shirohata (White Flag) installation  contributing a gay perspective to the problem of gender identity where stronghold masculine signifiers were ruptured and questioned – a white navy-like uniform was equated to white flag of surrender, and the Japanese national anthem, a nationalistic and somewhat militaristic song, was sung as a lullaby.

The design of the space emerged from my motivation to create a viewing cell for 48 ways to make love (a video-work by Bubu de la Madeleine and Akira the Hustler), a collaboration which is a parody on sexual guide books. I wanted an intimate little corner, where viewers could sit comfortably and watch the video. The divider for this section became the fan-shaped wall onto which I have installed the 19th c. images.  Just beyond the screen, a monitor was screening Morimura Yasumasa  's  Elvis Presley  video-art, where Elvis was drawing his guns and shooting around, with a reference to the famous image by Andy Warhol. The Masculine Masquerade space was completed with some magnificent still images (fan magazine covers) of Takarazuka actresses presonifying masculine generic images.

All in all, this space was in my view, a reflection on the Israeli condition, and the relationship between heroism, national ideas and militaristic practices – in relation to the problem of gender identity. Japan has been through the process and the debate of nationalism and militarism for a period stretching over a century, and the images could create an exemplary space to reflect on these aspects. In my view (not necessarily shared by the viewers) this has been one of the strongest arguments of this sort of exhibition, when one can enlighten a specific aspect or a problem in Israeli culture, through the engagement with a Japanese culture.

Figure 16 - Masculine Masquerade – General view

Figure 17 - Masculine Masquerade – Akira the Hustler Shirohata (White Flag) project, 2000

Figure 18 - Masculine Masquerade – Bubu de la Madeleine and Yoshiko Shimada – Made in Occupied Japan, 1998

Figure 19 - Masculine Masquerade – Bubu de la Madeleine and Akira the Hustler – 48 ways to make love, 1998

Figure 20 - Masculine Masquerade – 19th c. images of emperors and uniforms

Figure 21 - Masculine Masquerade – Morimura Yasumasa, posters for Takarazuka theatre, and Yokohama style prints depicting foreigners in Japan, second half of 19th c.

Embodiment of PostGender: Image Projections and Digital Reproduction

New Approaches in Contemporary Curating, Spring 2006